Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. Acquires Shares of 71,800 Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL)

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. acquired a new position in Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 71,800 shares of the biotechnology company's stock, valued at approximately $3,943,000. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. owned about 0.15% of Vericel as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of VCEL. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Vericel by 119.3% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,288,921 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $70,775,000 after purchasing an additional 701,064 shares during the last quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Vericel in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,233,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Vericel in the 4th quarter valued at $28,126,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its position in Vericel by 66.3% in the 4th quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 1,258,416 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $69,100,000 after purchasing an additional 501,736 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. grew its position in Vericel by 25.4% during the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,122,373 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $61,630,000 after purchasing an additional 227,675 shares during the last quarter.

Vericel Price Performance

NASDAQ:VCEL traded up $1.03 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $38.95. 512,162 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 397,218. Vericel Co. has a 1-year low of $37.39 and a 1-year high of $63.00. The stock has a market cap of $1.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 649.27 and a beta of 1.61. The firm's 50-day moving average is $44.24 and its 200-day moving average is $51.18.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vericel news, CEO Dominick Colangelo sold 24,850 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.89, for a total transaction of $1,040,966.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 260,354 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,906,229.06. This trade represents a 8.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jonathan Siegal sold 1,092 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.99, for a total transaction of $67,693.08. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,206 shares of the company's stock, valued at $74,759.94. This represents a 47.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 55,034 shares of company stock valued at $2,482,291. Company insiders own 5.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on VCEL shares. StockNews.com raised Vericel from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, March 8th. Stephens reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $65.00 price objective on shares of Vericel in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on shares of Vericel from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on Vericel from $61.00 to $51.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Vericel in a report on Friday, February 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vericel presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $60.86.

About Vericel

Vericel Corporation, a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company, engages in the research, development, manufacture, and distribution of cellular therapies for sports medicine and severe burn care markets in North America. The company markets autologous cell therapy products comprising MACI, an autologous cultured chondrocytes on porcine collagen membrane for the repair of symptomatic, and single or multiple full-thickness cartilage defects of the knee; Epicel, a permanent skin replacement humanitarian use device for the treatment of adult and pediatric patients with deep-dermal or full-thickness burns; and NexoBrid, a biological orphan product for eschar removal in adults with deep partial-thickness and/or full-thickness thermal burns.